It Gets Better
by Ariannette
Summary: Peter had been in love with Claire since the age of seventeen, yet she didn't know. As they walked down the isle of prom dresses, and she picked our the right one, he knew it was time to tell her their story. ONE SHOT!


**It Gets Better**

They walked down the isle.

This isle had blue dresses. It was better than the last isle they had spent in hour in…the purple isle. Peter now knew that when Claire meant a little while, it actually meant all day. They had been at the store for three hours already, picking dresses, trying them on, but no luck yet on finding the ideal prom dress.

Claire was finally graduating from school, and prom was a few months away. So like any normal teenage girl, she wanted to have the perfect dress for that night, Peter understood that. What he didn't understand though, was why she couldn't have taken Heidi or even Angela to shop for dresses. They would have enjoyed looking for 'the one'. They were girls, shopping came natural.

Yet, when Peter had suggested the very idea to Claire, she had been quick to toss it out. She stated that he and only he was the suitable person to accompany her to look for her prom dress. Peter had not known that having a niece, meant giving in to whatever Claire said. He had never had problems denying Monty and Simon something they wanted, but when it came to Claire, he just couldn't do it.

Every time Claire smiled at Peter and asked him something, it weaken him. Only he knew why she had that affect on him, he wasn't sure when would be the right time to tell her though. How could you explain to a seventeen year old that it was destiny that they meet? That they would be together until they were the last ones left alive?

It was getting harder for Peter to keep the information he knew to himself, especially now that prom was approaching for her. It would be time to tell her the truth, only he didn't know how she'd take it. Many years ago, the blonde haired girl had that had met him outside his house on his prom night had told him that they would meet in the future, and had explained in detail the exact moment in which he would know it was time to tell her.

He sighed as she looked through the never ending isle of blue dresses, he was just waiting for her to get to the pink section, her dress would be pink, he knew that. He wasn't allowed to tell her that it was pink, or pick out her dress for her, she had to do that on her own.

Peter yawned and took a dress from Claire's hand that she was going to try on. For a second her hand lingered on his and she smiled at him bashfully. He could see that she was still shy over the kiss they had shared on his birthday, but it had been months since that, and he still couldn't bring himself to even hug her.

Through Claire's eyes though, he could see that she already yearned for more than just a simple light kiss. Knowing Claire, she wouldn't ask him, she was reserved about the whole ordeal, even if she did want to sleep with him.

She had told him years ago, that he would have to be the one that made the move, and he had, he'd kissed her, but he couldn't bring himself to purposely sleep with her. Even if it was destiny, she was still his niece, and he would always be her uncle. That was something that they were going to have to live with the rest of their lives, once they began to live in sin. Sometimes he asked himself if it was already sinful to know that ultimately he'd take her virginity away and she his. By knowing this information was he already condemned to hell?

Part of Peter cared, but that part was by far less significant than it should have been. The desire of that time to come upon him won over, and in the end all he wanted was for her to find the dress, the dress that would set things on course, and ensure their life together.

"So how did you spend your prom?" Claire's inquisitive eyes looked at Peter, and dived into his own, searching for something to grab hold of and connect them even more.

Peter swallowed, he hadn't been expecting that question. The only thing he thought of was moving his bangs out of his way and laughing nervously. Suddenly his mind was back ten years ago, when himself had been 17. The girl had strictly told him not to tell her until the right moment, they couldn't change the course of action, he wasn't allowed to deviate.

That's when he saw it, the dress. It was hidden between two other short blue dresses on a rack. There was no harm in a mild suggestion he told himself. Plus, Peter didn't know how much longer he could take shopping with Claire. He involuntarily moved forward and took the dress from the rack. It was a short metallic pink dress. It would come a few inches above Claire's knee. It had no straps to confine her arms, and he remembered all too clearly how her skin would feel soft to his touch.

"That's the one Peter, isn't it beautiful?"

Her hand quickly went over to where he was holding the dress and took it from him, looking at it clearly. Peter saw as her hand caressed the dress, feeling the satin fabric over her fingertips. It was the material he himself had run his fingers over, he remembered his arms being around her waist. They had been sweaty and hot as he danced with a girl that seemed like an angel. The dress had been tight around her waist and chest, accentuating her breast, and lifting them up.

Peter cleared his throat and tried to sound normal, "Yes, it is"

There was no more looking after that. Claire tried it on, but didn't let Peter see, he didn't mind though, he had already seen her in that dress, even undressed her from it. The only thing that unnerved him now was that it was almost time, they had found the dress and she was going to get it, it was time to tell her about their past.

Claire stood at the counter leaning slightly against Peter as they waited for the salesgirl to run the credit card that Nathan had given her.

_'When we leave the store, I'll tell her'_ Peter mentally told himself. As he was handed the garment bag though, and they turned around to leave the store, fright overtook him. Every step that brought the closer to the doors made his heart fasten. Once they got through those two glass doors, he was going to have to tell her.

As Peter opened the door and felt the wind gust through him, it was as if it was a sign telling him that he could not alter fate.

"Do you want to get something to drink?" he asked, holding his breath.

It was possible that telling her the news, over some cold icy water would help ease his nerve. Besides, he began to realize that he was parched, and water was just what he needed before telling her the news she'd demanded to know all so long ago.

Claire gave him a quizzical look, and a half smile that told him she knew something was up, "Sure"

….

It was once they were both seated on uncomfortable wooden stools, overlooking the busy streets of Manhattan, that Peter new it was the moment. The way that her lips hugged her straw sucking up the refreshing water from the cup, it just all was coming together. He knew he had her attention, he knew that she was watching him, and he knew that she was waiting for something, maybe another kiss? Who knew, but only Peter knew what awaited for her.

He inhaled deeply one last time and brought his eyes up to hers, with a small smirk, "Claire, what did you think about the first time you saw me?" He knew he'd have to tell her, but didn't want to jump in all at once, he would slowly ease the life changing news on her, yeah that's exactly what he'd do.

Her brows furrowed and Peter could tell that she was confused by the randomness of the question at hand. Claire's lips parted away from her straw and spread a wide smile, "I thought, I'd just contradicted myself by thinking an emo guy was hot"

Peter let out a tensed laugh, Claire always went on about how his hair was emo. Truth be told, he hadn't even known what emo meant until she'd kindly explained it to him at a Sunday brunch, in the Petrelli mansion. He remembered she'd had to explain it a couple of times, because he really hadn't grasped the meaning of it, but he did not what so ever think of himself as emo, especially at the age of 27.

"Claire…if I told you something., would you try and understand? I mean…would you try and believe me? Even if what I'm asking you to believe is-" at this point, Peter knew he was rambling on, and not making much sense, but he had to let her know that it was true, and he didn't want to scare her away.

"Peter, I think everything's believable now. Of course I'll understand"

The words formed in his head, and he was ready to let them out, but his mouth wouldn't open. When it came down to it, he was a coward now, nothing of what he'd been at, at the age of seventeen. He found it kind of funny how it reminded him of the song, seventeen was a very good year for him, good and bad.

Peter shook his head, knowing it must have looked crazy to Claire, but he told himself he couldn't put it off any longer, this was the moment…

_February 14, 1997_

Being the little brother of Nathan Petrelli was huge, especially since Nathan had been pretty much a celebrity at his school ten years ago. The way that teachers raved about him annoyed Peter, there wasn't anything really remarkable about him, but the way that he sucked up to his Parents. In truth, Nathan was the golden boy of the family.

Peter had known that going to the same high school as Nathan was going to have its drawbacks, which was why he'd repeatedly asked his parents to send him off to boarding school, anywhere, just not West Village Prep. Unfortunately for Peter, his parents hadn't succumbed to his many ideas, and he had ultimately been sent to the school that was eagerly awaiting the presence of Nathan Petrelli's younger brother.

The first day of school for Peter had been horrible, with all the questions and the way that all the professors had winked at him. It was as if being Nathan's brother had giving him a VIP pass, to pass all his classes without really any effort. When it came down to it, it was all about who you knew and what family you came from. Which was why Peter had decided the first day after school, that he was going to defy all the expectations everyone had for him.

It was a horribly sunny Monday morning, a Monday morning like any other. There was nothing remarkable about it at all, just the fact that he had a hangover from the previous night. Simone Devauex had held a party at one of the apartments in a building that her parents owned. The Devauex's were family friends, which had been the only reason why Peter had actually been invited. Simone was the most popular girl in school, and had it been for the fact that she was nice, Peter would have had a boring Sunday night.

Peter wore his old Ray-Ban sunglasses that his grandfather had given him from the sixties. They were suppose to be some type of vintage sunglasses that were suppose to be taken care of, but Peter didn't' fuss about that, he just used them for what they were for. He used them to cover the fact that yes again, he had a hangover, and didn't really want to hear the complaints from his brother, the only one that could ever tell when Peter wasn't exactly himself.

He gave a slight groan as his driver pulled up to his school, he only four months to go and he would be out from the prison. Peter fumbled trying to open the door, but as he was about to push, the driver opened it, only making him stumble as he got out. Again, he gave another moan, he hated Mondays.

"Sorry Mr. Petrelli", the driver apologized profusely. Peter waved his hand back, motioning for him to leave, he didn't have time to say it was ok or get mad. All Peter wanted was to get the school day over with, so he could go home and fall on his bed to sleep. Yet, eight hours in school was going to be excruciating, he could already start feeling the nausea making him want to throw up.

He walked into the entrance of his school, and found his way to his locker, through the overcrowded hallway of kids in their uniforms. All the voices around him weren't helping the pounding that his head was feeling, and at that point he wished that he'd just slept in, and dealt with his mother instead of all the chattering.

While he put all his books in his locker, but his history textbook, Peter couldn't help at get the feeling that he was being watched. It struck him, because he was Peter Petrelli, normally know one would have taken the time of day to look at him. He was the renowned bad boy of West Prep high, girls were warned about him. Not that he was that much into girls, he was into getting the hell out of that institution.

When he looked around, and didn't see anyone particularly looking in his direction, he shook his head, which was a mistake, only nauseating him more. With a thud, he shut his locker, and turned to see Alex, one of his friends approaching. He gave him an acknowledging nod, and they began to walk to their history class.

"You go to Simone's?" asked Alex, turning to wink at a girl as they walked down the hall. Peter took the opportunity to roll his eyes, under his sunglasses, at his friend's flirtatious tendencies with any girl.

"Yeah. It was alright," he mumbled, swaying his bangs away from the front of his forehead. It was the one attribute his whole family despised, his bangs, which was why he kept them. His mother would often pester about how they were getting ridiculously long, and made him look uncared for, but that just made him like them all the more.

As they turned the corner to walk into their class, Peter felt that nagging feeling again that he was being watched. He turned his head in all directions, but he couldn't see anyone. It actually scared him that he couldn't see anyone but felt like he _was _being watched. Peter swallowed, and walked into his class, taking his seat all the way to the back. He thought it was idiotic that they never used the heater, especially when his parents paid twelve thousand dollars a semester for his tuition. Had they known of the current state of the classrooms, they would have for sure complained, along with the rest of the parents.

Peter lay his head on his arms, and covered his face, history was his resting class. Their professor was seventy-five and thought Peter was the most productive student in class, even if he slept through it all. That wasn't to say that he didn't try his best in the rest of his classes, he did, he just didn't have any enthusiasm for any of it.

But this class was another story, in this class, Peter could rest, he was sure of it. There weren't ever any changes in the routine of their teacher. She would read from the textbook, and hand out a sheet, which Peter would finish in five minutes top, and resume his slumber.

Yet on this very Monday, there was something weird in the air, it was unsettling, and he couldn't find himself drifting into his much needed sleep. It could have been the fact that it was valentine's and hormones were racing, with lust between the whole school body, but that wasn't the feeling that he was getting. It came as no surprise to him when a seat that had been empty the whole year, suddenly had been filled with a girl.

He slowly moved his eyes up her legs all the way until he met her face, and for a moment, Peter Petrelli was breath taken. It was only a instant though, because the next, he turned his head over and closed his eyes, completely ignoring the blonde to his right.

Inside his head though, her face played like a still shot. Gray-green eyes, luscious lips, a few freckles on her nose, and straight blonde hair that came slightly past her shoulders. Peter was certain that she was new, for he would have noticed her before, he would've definitely noticed her before.

When she poked at his back with a pencil, Peter turned, and gave her a bizarre look. He couldn't for the love of god, figure out, why a girl he'd never spoken to before in his life, was poking his back. Especially a girl, that would soon be popular because of her good looks, and completely ignore him in the future.

"I'm Claire" her smile was even more stunning.  
Claire. A name that would have previously gone unnoticed to him, now held a new significance. She sat there just staring at him, causing Peter to uncomfortably look around the classroom, hoping that she was talking to someone else, but him. But Claire's eyes were only on him, and Peter sighed turning his head thinking it best to just ignore her. He didn't need some blonde playing with him, especially on a Monday.

"Stop being an ass"

The fact that the blonde not only was addressing him but also now getting angry at him, made his head snap over to look at her. It was frightening to know that a girl he had never met before, was speaking to him as if they were old friends. He frowned a bit, and licked his lips, "Do I know you?"

Claire rested her elbow on her desk, and her head upon her hand, and gave Peter another smile, "Now you do"

Peter licked his lips again, he wasn't use to being flirted with, especially not with a girl like Claire. His lip involuntarily twitched, and he let out a tiny smile, "Is today your first day?"

The blonde's head nodded in response to him. Peter's eyes drifted from her eyes to her jaw line, it was so accentuated, and sexy. And it only helped, that Claire seemed to know all of this and shined with confidence, as if she knew that he was already attracted to her in those few minutes that they had spoken to each other.

"I'm Pe-"

"You're Peter Petrelli, I know" She reached over and moved his bangs out of his eyes, apparently not concerned for his personal boundaries. Peter could see that Claire was very comfortable touching him, and wondered what she really wanted, and if it was just a prank from Simone's group. It was valentine's and completely possible that they were trying to play games with Peter.

Peter moved away from her a little and swallowed, "How do you know my name?"

The bell rang for class to begin, and Claire scooted her seat back to its original spot, leaving Peter in insufferable questioning. All the while, he kept stealing looks at her, but at this point Claire was pointedly just looking in front of her and listening to their near-death professor talk about world war 2. On any other occasion Peter would have fallen asleep by now, having his odd futuristic dreams that he was use to having, but not on this day. This day Peter's attention had been stolen by Claire, who he still didn't know anything about, but felt like she knew him.

At some point during the class, Peter stole another look at Claire, who still had her full attention on their teacher. When he'd been staring at her for a few minutes, was when Peter took no notice that there was someone behind him. Claire turned to face him, and giggled, but he just gave a tense smile back. After a couple seconds though, he noticed that the whole class had turned to look at him.

Peter frowned, and turned his head to see that his old bifocal wearing teacher, was standing right behind him with a textbook ready to drop it on his head. Before his teacher had a chance to drop the textbook on him, he managed to get out of the way and fall onto the floor, making him look like a complete idiot in front of his classroom.

"Mr. Petrelli, can you inform the class what year Hitler's reign fell?"

Fortunately, Peter was well educated on history enough to know the exact date on which Hitler had committed suicide. Yet, he swallowed and took his seat again, not daring to look at Claire. What would happen if he told the correct answer? Would he look like a nerd? Or just the opposite? On any other day Peter would have automatically responded with the right answer, but today was a different story.

"I don't know"

The whole class laughed as their professor rolled her eyes at him, and picked up the textbook, walking back to the front of the class. Peter had once again, taken his seat and laid his head down, avoiding the looks of everyone around him, he didn't care, he just wanted to get his rest, or try to at least.

"Mr. Petrelli, stay after class"

And inaudible groan escaped from Peter's lips, and he sighed, he hated Mondays…

_Later_

After profusely apologizing to his history teacher, and promising to stay awake and pay attention in class, peter had finally left the classroom. He held his textbook loosely at his side, and put his sunglasses on his head letting his eyes finally adjust to the natural light. As he turned to start walking out on the hall though, he was surprised to see a certain blonde waiting on the other side of the hallway, clutching her textbook in her arms, and smiling.

Peter only looked at her momentarily, then shifted his gaze towards the end of the hall. The bathroom seemed to be the only place where he could escape from the stalkerish, yet beautiful blonde. She sped up, and started walking by his side, and at this point, Peter couldn't ignore her any longer.

"I'm sorry, but is there something in particular that you need? Did Simone and Isaac send you? Is this some type of joke?"

At the mention of those names, was when Peter finally got another expression out of Claire rather than just amusement, she had a frown.

"Simone…Deveaux? And Isaac Mendez? They go here with you?" she asked him incredulously.

By the look on her face Peter could tell that she hadn't been sent by either of them, she was just shocked to hear their names. So his next question was, how had she known his name? better yet, why had she been flirting with him?

"Yeah, they go here…do you know them?"

Claire quickly shook her head while looking straight ahead to the empty corridor, "No, Yo-I mean, my friend has told me a lot of stuff about them, but I didn't know they went here"

There was just something about Claire that Peter couldn't put his finger on, but she sure wasn't normal. In fact, he was starting to wonder if Claire herself had any idea who she was really speaking to. Did she know she was committing social suicide by being seen with him? Probably not.

As peter took a step forward to push open the door to the bathroom, Claire somehow managed to get in front of him, blocking him from the entrance of the boys bathroom. This was the first time that Peter noticed any edginess to Claire, only for a moment though, and then regained her confidence and smiled, "Do you know what today is Peter?"

Of course he knew what day it was, it was the day that many of his peers used to have unprotected sex. Sex that would lead to secret abortions that would be done months later as prom inched closer. It was just the way things were done at West Village Prep. Valentine's though, was also a day were people let loose out of their comfort zone, and lost the better half of themselves, making them prone to heartbreak. Yet, Peter knew better, he would not follow in the path of his peers and succumb to a lusty emotion he might be feeling on this very day for any girl.

His indecisiveness was really starting to bug him. One minute he wanted to turn around and run away from this girl he hardly knew, yet the next he wanted nothing more than to return the flirtatious looks she gave him. Peter prided himself with being smarter than the rest of the kids who walked around with the false mentality that you could find love at first sight.

"Yes I do know what day it is", he countered, mirroring her intensity. He wanted to make her feel just as tense as she had made him. Looking into those gray-green eyes though, Peter could see that Claire was too confident to get uneasy that easily.

A smile spread on Claire's face once more, and Peter knew too clearly where this was headed. Again he asked himself how a girl like Claire with lustrous plump lips and beautiful deep gray green eyes, would be even remotely interested in someone like him. She had to know that he was a nobody, that he was just Peter Petrelli.

"Well then Peter, I think we both have a problem at hand," the worry in her voice was too obviously fake, and her frown just an act. One thing Peter could tell, was that Claire was not a good actress, or maybe she was, he really didn't know.

"What would that problem be?"

Claire gave a slow, soft singular giggle, and trailed his tie down to the end of it, until her finger was pressed right against his bellybutton, "I believe we are both without a Valentine Peter, and that's an awful thing to not have on this day."

Peter looked down and took notice of her fingers. Just like the rest of her, her fingers were different from any other girl in the school. Simone and her followers all wore fake acrylic nails, they were popular, only meaning that they had to have them. Not Claire though, her nails were visibly her own, and well cared for. She had a light coat of pink clear nail polish, and that was all, it looked natural. Peter frowned, and scratched the back of his neck, he was trying to figure out when nails had become so attractive to him.

After a long sigh, he looked back up to face Claire biting her bottom lip, "How do you think we should do about that?" he found himself saying. It wasn't an answer like him at all, in fact, none of which he was doing was normal. On any other day Peter would not have been standing in the middle of a hallway talking to a girl between classes with the possibility of being late to class. No, this Valentine Monday was a strange, strange day.

As all these thoughts and more surged through Peter's mind, it was easy to see why when Claire's lips touched his, he jerked. She was standing against the door of the boys bathroom, and his arm had somehow manages to get to the wall, putting them in a very casual position, a position that he had promised himself he'd never be in. Her lips felt just as soft as they looked, which didn't help his resistance against her. Peter found himself at ease kissing a complete stranger he had just met in his history class.

He parted away from her a few seconds into the kiss and frowned, realization dawning upon him, "I have no idea who you are"

Claire let a small sigh escape her lips and she rolled her eyes, not in a way other girls at his school had rolled their eyes at him, but in a soft, gentle caring way that made no sense to him. The more thought he gave her though, the more he realized Claire didn't make any sense at all.

"Yes you do. I'm Claire, and I'm your Valentine"

_Present Day_

They had just time traveled back the first time. Claire still hadn't said a word to him, and he didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. Her face was emotionless, as if just in thought. A deep thought that not even his mind reading could break through to read. Claire had finally met the young him for the first time, he was nervous trying to figure out what she thought, after so many years, he wanted to know what it was like for her that day, meeting him at his worst.

He let go of her hand as he brought them to a nice bench in central park. She sat down, surveying her school girl shoes that had been mandatory at West Village Prep. Claire didn't look like that confident girl he had met on Valentine's so many years ago, she looked scared, and overwhelmed. Peter hated himself for having to throw her into his messed up world, but she herself had asked him too.

"So…how did it go?" he cleared his throat, taking a seat next to her.

Claire turned her head to look at him, and made a completely saddened face. He could see that tears welled up in the rims of her eyes, as she fought not the let them out, "You're horrible Peter, that's not you at all"

The vulnerability that the saw in Claire broke him. Slowly, he embraced her in a hug, and she rested her head against his chest, letting his protective arms go around her, connecting her to him. Peter brought down his mouth to her ear and softly whispered, "I was like that before I met you Claire. You have to understand, I was a completely different Person, before you came along and saved me"

He could feel her shudder, and shake her head, "I don't like that you, you were so impartial to anything I said. I had to basically throw myself at you Peter, its like you didn't care about me at all"

His fingers moved a lock of hair away from Claire's face, and she turned to look at him with her mournful face. It wasn't fair to her that she had to put up with him in those years. Those days had been difficult for him, he had been figuring out he was the black sheep of the family, and had taken his bottled up emotions with anything and anyone around him. It was cruel that Claire had to be part of that.

"I wont be like that first day for long, I promise Claire, you're going to change me. Without you…I don't know who I would have come to be"

_February 25th, 1997_

For the fifteenth time, Peter paced in the bathroom, with his cigarette. He didn't know when it had happened, but sometime during the one week he'd spent getting to know Claire, he had fallen prisoner to the attraction of her. A new feeling of lust and desirability had found its way inside him, and Peter found himself missing her that Tuesday morning in History class.

That morning Peter had gotten up early and had even thrown on some of the cologne his mother had gotten him for Christmas, finally putting it to use. His parents had instantly noticed the difference in Peter, and asked him what had brought on such a vast change in him. Peter had merely shrugged, and fought back a small grin at the corner of his lips while walking out with his folder under his arms.

What he was _possibly_ feeling for Claire was too premature to share with anyone. He wasn't sure if anyone who knew him would be able to understand his sudden enticement for the blonde. Not when he had only known her for one week. _one_ week. It was still difficult for him to grasp that. How could a random girl have made him feel so different in such a short period of time? He didn't know, but as much as he hated to admit it, he wanted things to stay the way they were.

It was for that reason and many more that Peter took another puff from his cigarette and sat across the window in the bathroom sulking because Claire was not there that day. There was a slight noise and the bathroom door swung open, revealing the school janitor. For a second Peter stood still, not sure of what to do, as he stared at the janitor in the eyes, wondering what to say. After all, it was only a janitor, there wasn't much that _he _could do to Peter.

Peter jumped off the ledge of the window, sucked on his cigarette for one last time and dropped it onto the bathrooms tiled floor and stepped on it. The janitor's eyes bore into his and Peter simply smiled, digging his hands into his pockets and walking past him, and out the bathroom door. It amused him that he had gotten caught, he wasn't usually careless. Peter knew there was a line, and had always been cautious not to cross it. He knew he'd never be like Nathan, a golden boy, but he didn't purposely want to cause trouble, it just sort of tended to happen to him.

As Peter walked down the solitary hallway, the bell for the last class rang, and instantly, students started walking out, getting ready for their last class. For him, the last class was physiology, and Peter hated that. In fact, he tended to stay away from anything to do with science or politics. He was more into music than anything else, but he couldn't tell his parents that, he didn't think his father, the lawyer would understand.

Politics were idiotic to him and ninety-eight percent at fault for there not being any world peace. All the different views and opinions that everyone held was why everyone was so categorized and divided. Politics was the reason for famine, suicide bombing and terrorist. Most of all, Arthur Petrelli was associated with politics, and Peter did not want to follow in his footsteps, his father already had Nathan to do that.

The world of sciences had never interested Peter either. There was nothing appealing about biology or chemistry. He knew they had their purposes, but Peter just figured he'd never use any of it. He wasn't going into medicine, you had to like people to go into medicine, and Peter knew he wasn't a people person.

As always his nerdy four-eyed science professor handed out a worksheet that they had to complete with their partner. Fortunately for Peter, this physiology class had twenty-nine students, making him the odd one out. He didn't mind though, he worked better in solitude anyway.

Peter was in the middle of his worksheet when he looked out the window to see a girl sitting in on the entrance of the school rail. As he focused his eyes, he noticed it was Claire, she was sucking on a lollipop without her school uniform. He frowned, and laughed as she turned to look at him and smile, waving her hand. He waved back, and shook his head, yet again completely overcome with confusion as to why Claire had evidently ditched school, yet outside.

After what seemed much more than forty-five minutes, the bell rang and Peter was the first one out of his chair and out the door. He ignored the multiple callings from his professor to go back into class until the he released them, but Peter didn't care. His curiosity to know why Claire was outside and why she'd missed history won the best of him.

"hey", called Claire from where she was sitting. She gracefully jumped off the rail and stood against it, he knew she was waiting for him to walk forth. Half her hair was pulled back, but some still fell down and hit her collarbone. Claire wore a white short sleeved top with jeans, skinny jeans. Her attire was unusual, not something that girls like Simone wore, yet it fit her.

"Where were you this morning?"

"Let's just say I had some time-issues and didn't calculate time correctly, but I'm here now. So…are your parents or Nathan home?"

They'd spoken about many things in that week she had been attainting West Village Prep. The one thing that they hadn't spoken about though, was Nathan, so it was curious to Peter, as to how she knew of him. Again, the possibility of Claire being a spy seemed to linger in the back of his thoughts.

"Umm…no"

Claire reached out and pulled his hand. Her palm felt soft against his, and he found his hand slightly squeezing her own and letting her guide him to a taxi that was casually waiting in front of the school for them. Once they were inside the taxi, Claire recited his address as if she'd known it all her life, and again Peter was stuck, wondering who she really was, and more importantly, why he wasn't afraid of her knowing where he lived.

_Later_

Once they had gotten to Peter's house, Claire had taken the initiative to pay for the taxi ride. Peter had been taking the money out of his pocket when he turned up and saw that the driver already had the money in his hand, and looked to see Claire smiling, and waiting for him at the steps of the Petrelli mansion.

"You're sure no one is home right?" asked Claire biting her lip, and looking up at the massive house that stood in front of both of them. Again, like the day they had kissed on valentine's worry was etched across Claire's beautiful face.

Peter walked up the stairs and unlocked the door, laughing, "Why are you so worried about seeing them?"

With a sigh, Claire followed Peter through the door and into the foyer. Her smile appeared again, and sucked one her lollipop as she started walking up the stairs. She gave no indication for Peter to follow, and for a few seconds he stayed in the same spot going over how Claire had obliviously ignored his questioning face when she knew his address.

Claire's voice broke Peter's reflection and he turned up to see her leaning over the railing at the top of the stares, making it easy to see her protruding breast, "What are you waiting for?"

Peter shook his head and laughed as he ran up the spiraling staircase, until he was up to Claire. There were a few seconds where staring was all Claire did, it was as if she was taking him in completely, and examining every part of him. He himself couldn't help at stare at her wondering eyes, eyes that were so full with emotion and secrets, that he wished he knew.

There was much more to Claire than Peter could understand, and he knew that. He hated to think of it, but the more the looked at her, the more he felt as if he'd finally met the person he was suppose to be with, and that was impossible in only a week, he knew that. With caution, he brought his lips down to hers, but felt as Claire pulled back from their almost kiss.

"What's wrong?" insecurity starting to hit him. Claire had been the one to initiate the flirting, the one that kissed him for the first time, it completely shocked him that she was pulling away from it now.

Her nose scrunched up, and made a grossed out face, "Have you been smoking?"

"Does that bother you"

It was clear to peter when Claire folded her arms and walked into his room, that she was bothered by it. The fact that Claire was didn't like smokers didn't surprise him, he didn't know her that well, but Claire seemed to be the type of girl to go for the All American boy. Which was why, again Peter was stuck asking himself, why him?

He unconsciously moved his bangs out of his face and followed Claire into his room, where she was comfortably seated on the floor and next to his CD's, looking through them. He closed the door behind him, and Claire turned to give him one of her breathtaking smiles, "You don't smoke Peter, ok?"

She turned back and looked through every CD, searching for a specific one, when she didn't find it, she turned back and frowned. Peter frowned back and smiled, "What?"

"What year is it?"

"1997..."

It was the first time that Peter heard Claire curse. The abruptness of it, made him scratch the back of his neck and look around, wondering what to talk about.

"Why isn't it 1998 yet? Elliott Smith? You know, you shouldn't listen to him. I know he's one of your favorite musicians but, he has a serious depression problem"

Peter remembered the first time he had gone to an Elliott Smith concert. It had been a complete accident. Alex and him had been trying to get into a club to see the hives perform, but somehow ended up being entertained by Elliott smith. There was something about the cheerless lines that had drawn in Peter that night, and taken him by complete.

He had always known in the back of his mind that depression was a word that could be associated with him. Having a family like the one he did, and being singled out from Nathan had only helped him to that point. He didn't dwell in it, it had just become a part of his everyday life.

"Depression is normal nowadays"

Claire had turned around and was sitting with her legs crossed, in an Indian position. Her posture was always perfect, and there was silence that one again taken control of the room. Peter hated being stared at by Claire, he could never decipher what was going through her mind.

"Peter what's wrong? You aren't yourself"

Actually, peter thought, he was himself. His everyday life consisted of taking in snide comments by his father. Always pretending that his mother actually cared, and trying to understand that Nathan was the oldest, and older kids demanded more attention. Being the second best to Nathan was normal. Nathan deserved all the attention he got, he was a good person, he on the other hand wasn't. Peter didn't have a resume that exemplified all his good deeds like Nathan, he was just Peter, Nathan Petrelli's younger brother.

"This is me Claire"

Somewhere in between his sentence, Claire had jumped up with his CD player and had pushed him down on to his bed and laid next to him. They were both on their sides and Claire was smiling up at Peter with such reassurance, that he wasn't sure anyone had ever given him before. Claire carefully placed an earphone in Peter's ear and one in her own ear and turned the CD Player on.

Peter was surprised to hear The Cardigans through the ear piece, and hear Lovefool instantly come on. He'd gotten that CD for Christmas from Nathan, noting that it was kind of girly and telling Peter it fit him perfectly, but he hadn't really agreed. Peter laughed and moved a piece of hair out of Claire's face to see her beautiful smile, and sing along to the lyrics of the song.

"_Love me love me, say that you love me"_

_'I do', _rang through Peter's thoughts.

_May 13th, 1997_

It had finally happened. Claire was friends with Simone, and just how Peter had imaged it, she had instantaneously become the hottest girl at school. He knew it had been inevitable, he knew it would happen, but what he hadn't been ready for was his change in status at his school. He had gone from, mysterious, anti-social, and loner to the hot-mysterious boyfriend of Claire.

Girls all around his school that had never given him the time of day before, suddenly knew his name, and were _flirting_ with him. The jocks in the lacrosse team said hi to him every time he walked by, it was bizarre. Sometimes Peter wondered if he'd taken some acid and was imagining it all. He'd done it once at Alex's house, but had vowed after waking up on his roof, that he'd never do it again. But he wondered, if it was all a dream, Claire especially.

They weren't really dating, not officially. He hadn't asked her and she hadn't said one word of it, but people assumed. Peter found it weird to walk down the hall of his school and have people acknowledge him. He was starting to miss the days when he'd just been left alone. The school newspaper had even done a piece on relationships in their school and had asked Peter questions, it was all beginning to be too surreal.

There were still days when Claire didn't go to school, even for weeks at a time. Peter had also noticed she never really carried a backpack, or any books. There were millions of questions he had to ask her, that he wanted to know, but Claire had been gone for a week this time.

Whenever she left, she always said she got sick, but she never seemed sick to him. In fact, he'd seen Claire fall on her knees on cement, and not have any bruising. She'd fallen down from his stairs once, when they had been playing tag in his house. Tag. He'd never played it as a child and found it silly and childish, but Claire had insisted. Denying Claire anything was rather difficult for him now, she'd pout and there was some inability with in him to have any self restraint around her.

When two hands covered his eyes, Peter instantly smiled. He knew the softness of those fingers too well, it was Claire. He was suppose to be mad at her, but when he felt her giggle behind him, the anger evaporated and instead filled his stomach with butterflies.

"Where have you been?" he asked her, taking her hands off his eyes and turning around to face a radiant Claire.

"With you"

Peter rolled his eyes. She always made funny little comments like that, that really didn't make any sense. She had told him that they were meant to be, that it was destiny. He couldn't understand it, didn't see it, but deep down he felt it.

"I'm serious Claire, is there some other guy that kidnaps you and takes you on week long trips or something?"

They were in the middle of their school hallway, but that didn't seem to concern either of them as kids walked by, and one guy winked at Claire. He was use to guys oggling her while he was there, she was Claire Butler, everyone thought she was hot. He saw as Claire nervously waved back but didn't smile, she just frowned. Peter wondered if that was him, was that the guy that Claire was secretly dating.

"Peter, we need to talk"

He knew exactly what those five words meant. He'd heard them countless times from different girls he had dated throughout his life. Its no you its me, they'd say. It was always the same story though, they just didn't want to be in a relationship. He never understood that because a week later they'd be off dating Alex, or someone else.

Claire took his hand, and led him to their now empty history class. The bell rang as she closed the door behind them, lunch had just ended, meaning that he should have been in his music appreciation class. That was one class he could honestly say he enjoyed, even if it meant that he had to watch seventeenth century based movies on different composers.

"Peter, we're going to prom together ok?"

Peter had imagined various types of ways that their conversation would go, but this wasn't one of them. Peter wasn't going to prom, he hated prom. It was just another excuse for his peers to have more unprotected sex, and Peter wasn't going to take part in that. Besides, even if he wanted to go, they had stopped selling the tickets the day before, when Claire hadn't been there.

"No"

After crossing his arms and staring at her with great determination to keep his face straight, he noticed something in Claire's hand. She saw him looking down at the papers she was holding, and she raised her hand to expose to tickets to the enchanted themed Prom.

His hand reached for a ticket, and he took it frowning, how could Claire have possibly gotten tickets when she hadn't even been there? There were too many things going on with Claire that he didn't understand, and it was beginning to overwhelm Peter at this point.

"But how did you get them?"

Claire shrugged and leaned in to kiss him. He responded accordingly and wrapped his arms around her waist. She always knew how to distract him, his mystery girl, because that's what she was to him, one big unsolved mystery. The more he thought about that the more he realized that he needed to ask her all those questions that were pent up inside.

He wanted to know where she was from, where she had come from, how did she know so much about him, why did she want him? He instinctively pulled away and grabbed her hands in his own, so that she didn't try and kiss him again.

"Claire, who are you? You walk into my history class, knowing my name, knowing about my family, knowing where I live...how?"

In that moment all the noise had disappeared and all that Peter was aware of was Claire and him, it didn't matter that they were skipping a class, that they would both probably get in trouble, all he wanted were answers. Yet Claire didn't seem ready to give that to him, for she stood in front of him with such a terrified yet sad expression that he was certain he'd never seen before.

She bit her lip and momentarily looked down searching for her words. Peter slowly let go of her hands, which went to the front of her and awkwardly went around her. Claire looked back into Peter's eyes and sighed, "Do you love me Peter?"

With a curse, he rubbed his eyes and turned, irritated. He could never get a straight answer out of her, she always had to be so intricate in the way that she handled his questions.

"I can tell you this. I know you're the sweetest guy I've ever met, and you would give the shirt off your back to anyone in need. I know that your family is the most important thing for you, despite what you may say. I know that you have dreams that you can't explain, and feel like your special, because you are Peter"

At the mention of his dream, Peter jerked back around, frowning, "Did I tell you about my dreams?"

Claire shook her head and stepped forward, "I promise when the time comes that I'll tell you everything. I promise"

_Present Day_

"You're starting to ask questions"

Peter snuggled onto Claire's lap on his sofa. There was something to comforting, in having her in his apartment with her. They hadn't slept together, at his insistence of course, but he just liked having her there. The way that she so delicately brushed his hair with her hands drove him so crazy that he bit his lip down.

"You have to tell me at prom Claire, not before that"

He knew it was hard for her, it was hard for him to all those months after having met her. He wasn't sure what he could say without letting it slip that he was deeply in love with her. Claire turned his head so that he was looking up at her, and noticed her grinning. It had been a long time since he had seen her grin like that. The stress of the time travel had started taking a toll on her emotionally, so to see her smile made him feel slightly better.

"Peter at what age did you loose your virginity?" The words rolled out of Claire's mouth with a sweet poisonous lace to them. Somehow he had neglected to tell her that part. Perhaps he thought, that had been why he had so many times stopped when their kissing had become to passionate for him to bare. His subconscious had known when to stop him.

"When I was 17, with you"

The mischievous grin that was on Claire's had grown to such a degree that he had never seen before.

"When?"

He sighed and sat up, crossing his arms. The infamous night they had, had sex was so vivid in his memory. He had dreamt about it years after it had happened. They had both been so nervous, even if Claire seemed to know what was going to happen.

"Prom night"

Claire squealed like he had never heard her before and she threw herself on to him, hugging him. Irony struck him, as he remembered when he had profusely told Claire that he wouldn't go to prom.

_May 18, 1997 _

_**Three days to prom**_

"No, no , no. We aren't going Claire," Peter screamed at her pacing in his room, and looking at the black tux that Claire had shown up with.

It was a Thursday and Claire had missed school again, making him slightly annoyed at her. He had gone home and turned on Elliott Smith to the max, hoping that wherever Claire was, that she was hearing the depressive tone of his mood. It angered him that he had become so dependant on her boisterous personality. Her happiness supplied enough for what he lacked, and she was his sun while he her moon.

What aggravated more than anything was the constant questioning from everyone at school. Now that she had brought him into the social scene, he had been asked about her whereabouts countless times. He himself wanted to know more about her, at least where she lived.

On that Thursday, Peter's butler had told him that there was a young lady waiting downstairs for him. At first he had thought it was Claire, but when he gave it more thought, it was completely unlike Claire to show up at his doorstep, especially when she was frightened to meet anyone from his family.

Once he had gone the stairs and seen a brunette facing a picture on the wall of him and his family Peter had been perplexed, aside from Simone, he didn't know any brunettes.. As she had turned around, he cursed, when he saw it was Claire, smiling and throwing her arms around his thin body.

He knew why she was wearing the wig, she didn't want anyone from his family, knowing that she was his girlfriend. It was stupid to him, because he didn't normally have any girl visitors, so he knew that at some point they'd know.

She was wearing a black pea coat, and metallic flats, with black skinny jeans and a white top. He couldn't understand where she got her weird clothing from. She dressed nothing like the other girls at his school, which was partially one of the reasons why he liked her so much, her spunk, her personality.

She had led him up to his room, like so many times before and continued to tell him how they were going to go to prom. Peter had promised himself early on in high school that he wouldn't attend such a superficial gathering, but Claire seemed indifferent to his refusal. She had taken out his black tux which had a skinny black tie.

Peter had shaken his head though, and told her that under no circumstance would he attend prom. Prom stood against everything he believed in.

"Peter, you were nominated prom king, you have to go"

At that point he frowned and crossed his arms, "I was nominated? What about you?"

Claire walked over to his bed, which he was so comfortably sitting in, and sat on his lap, "I'm afraid I wasn't Peter. Simone and this other blond chick were, its ok though, as long as you win I'll be happy"

Their kisses always seemed so good, that Peter had wondered how he had lived his life before them. In fact it seemed difficult now to picture his life without Claire. She believed in him so much, put up with his attitude, and he wondered at times why she ever stuck around.

Soon their innocent kiss had progressed to a full out make out session in which he had somehow managed to get her beneath him on his bed. His mouth slowly started trailing kisses on to her throat and she gave a small groan, he knew she felt the pressure that was in his pants against her own.

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to explore the rest of her body without clothing, yet a knock on the door, brought them both back to their senses. Peter jumped up from his bed to see a grinning Nathan at the door. He turned back to see that Claire had hid her face and was sitting on the floor, facing away from his door.

"Peter, I'm going out with Heidi, ok? Mom and dad are still at the Deveaux's. You kids don't have too much fun ok?"

Peter swallowed and gave a small nod, knowing his face was burning red. He never thought, the day would come in which he'd be caught in his own room with a girl. He might have been the more mischievous one from him and Nathan, but he had never really messed around like Nathan did.

After Nathan left, he instantly walked over and made sure his door was locked. Claire was still facing the wall, Peter had never seen her as petrified as she was at that moment. When she had finally turned over to see that they were alone, was when she finally spoke up.

"Do you think he saw me?"

Peter shook his head and pulled her up to his bed again, trailing kisses from her neck to her breast. He didn't want Nathan's interruption to stop where they had been headed to.

He felt Claire's chest breathe deeply and knew that she was enjoying every bit of his kisses. It surprised him though, when she pulled away softly.

"No, we can't, we will, just not yet", her voice said the opposite though, it sounded so weakened by his touch. She was starting to bite her lip so hard, that Peter noticed blood trailing her beautiful lip.

"You're bleeding", he rushed to his bathroom to get paper. Once he went back to his bed though, Claire's lip had stopped bleeding and seemed to be back to that perfect shape of hers, "Are you ok?"

His fingertips reached over and examined the flawlessly structured plump lips that he loved so much. His finger grazed over it and Claire closed her eyes, he knew that she still wanted it, just like him. He closed them in and buried her lips with his, and felt her moan into their kiss. Desire was etched on every part of Claire's face, and Peter's was no different. He had known that their closeness would escalate to this level, and he wanted nothing more than to take her at that moment.

Again though, Claire pulled away with much remorse in her eyes. It puzzled Peter as to why she was denying both of them something they both yearned so much. Her face at this point was flustered, and Peter was visibly aroused, it made no sense.

"Dammit Claire, why?"

She bit her bottom lip again and smiled, "Because you have to wait until prom"

Peter sighed, and took her in for another kiss, and pulled away slightly, "But I'm not going", he whispered kissing her again.

Claire pulled back, "You are Peter. You _have_ to go, don't you understand?"

"Why?"

Claire was turned at this point, and looking out onto the window. Outside he saw that His parents had pulled up in their limo, and he noticed Claire curse again. She turned and had a tear in her eye, "Because it's the last time I'm going to see you for a long time"

_May 26th, 1997 _

_**Prom Night**_

"Ma! Stop it, you're going to make his date think he was with another girl"

Angela Petrelli for the tenth time had given Peter another kiss on his cheek as he stood in front of them with the tux that Claire had so kindly picked out for him.

"I don't care! Where is this mystery girl anyway? Shouldn't she be here? You know I haven't even met her Peter"

Peter rolled his eyes as he held the white corsage in one hand , and dug his hand deep into his pocket with the other. His parents had taken it upon themselves to take a thousand pictures of Peter. They seemed disturbingly happy that he was not only going to prom but he had a _date_. They would deny it, but Peter often thought his parents assumed him to be gay, because of his lack in interest for the opposite sex.

"I met her Ma, she and Peter were in their room. I think I interrupted something" Grinned Nathan with his arm around Heidi, who hit him playfully. She had wanted to be there with them to see Peter off on his prom night too. He found it odd having so much attention from his whole family, including Heidi, who was engaged to Nathan.

"Peter Petrelli, were you having sex?" while Angela seemed upset, his father and Nathan nearly winked at him. He could feel his cheeks turning pink. The topic of sex with his parents was one he'd never had, they had let sex education in school educate him about that. It was why hearing his mom even utter the word sex to him, made his stomach knot uncomfortably.

He turned to glare at Nathan, "No, I wasn't"

After many more pictures, with Nathan, his mom, Heidi, and even a couple with his father, Peter was off. He was relieved when he was finally in the limo alone, and without his pestering family at his side.

Peter was suppose to meet Claire at their prom destination, the four seasons. It bothered him a little that she didn't have enough trust in him to meet her family. All he wanted was to know a little about her, but at the same time, the mystery lured him to her in the first place, making it ok that their relationship was still somewhat secretive, and he liked it that way.

It would have been a lie if he would have said he wasn't nervous, because in fact he really was. He was nominated for prom king, and going with the most beautiful girl in school, what wasn't there to be nervous about?

As the limo pulled up to the hotel, Claire was already waiting outside. If there was one word that could have described her it was, enchanting. She was already beautiful, no matter what she had one, but on this night Claire simply looked radiant. Her eyes were searching for him, he knew it. He didn't want to get out of the car though, not yet, he just wanted to look at her a little longer.

She was wearing a short sleeveless pink dress. It was tight around her waist and accentuated her breast, but as it went down to her hips, it was slightly puffy. The short dress showed off her lean yet curved legs, which led down to her Cinderella shoes, there was no other way to describe them. Claire had let her hair loose, but had curled the ends, and he could see simple white diamond studs in her ears. Everything about her outfit was Claire, and he loved it.

He saw her turn her head as someone called her name, and was shocked to see a guy walk over and kiss her full on the lips. It wasn't a friendly kiss, it was an intimate one. A kiss that he had shared with Claire too many times. After a few seconds though, he had left again, and Peter hadn't been able to make out his face because Claire's hair had been blocking it.

He exited the limo, and grasped the corsage in one hand so tightly, the plastic bent in his palm. His expression seared with anger, but he didn't care, he should have known all along that she was too good to be true. Peter had tried to stop himself many times to stop himself from perusing her, he knew he shouldn't' have, and now he had prove.

Claire turned and her smile at his sight faded once she saw that he wasn't smiling back. Her expression grew to a frown, and she stepped forward, "What's wrong Peter?"

By this point the plastic box in which the corset was being held, was grasped so tightly by his hand, that it cut into his palm, but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was what he had just seen.

"Who was that?"

"Who?" asked Claire clueless.

"Don't play dumb, I just saw you kiss another fucking guy. Was this all some kind of stupid joke to you? To get me nominated from prom king?"

"Peter you're bleeding!" Claire grabbed his hand and took it in hers, letting the corsage drop to the floor. He turned his gaze over to his bleeding hand, and was dazed at what he saw. His cut had instantly healed, and the blood that had been in his hand, was gone. He held up his hand examining it, unable to understand what had just happened.

"Peter…the guy I was kissing isn't who you think it is-"

"Claire I don't fucking think its anyone! I don't know anything about you, so how could I assume it was some guy I've never met before. He probably knows more about you than I do, you don't' tell me anything"

Claire sighed, and she picked up the corsage from the floor, and put it on her hand. Peter couldn't lie, the white corsage that he had picked out, complimented her very well, and she just looked beautiful, even if he was furious with her.

"Its time we talked Peter"

_Later_

She was from the future. It was crazy, and he thought she was playing games with him, but after seeing how she miraculously healed from cutting off her arm, her story of being from the future seemed to make sense. All the missing school, all the information she knew of him, and the new one she provided, it all fit.

They were past their fight and she had explained that she had kissed him. Peter had his hands around her wait while Claire looked up at them and they danced to Oh My Love by John Lennon. For the moment it fit them, and he was just content to know that she was his Claire.

"You said tonight would be the last time I saw you"

Claire nodded, and lay her head on his chest, while they continued to dance, "Yes, you wont see me again until the day I meet you for the first time"

"When do we meet for the first time"

There was another exhaustible sigh that came from Claire, and she raised her head to give him a small kiss, "I can't tell you. When you meet me though, just know that I'm the one"

Peter wasn't use to feeling helpless, he never had the need to. But knowing that soon, their night would be over, and that Claire would leave him until he met her, scared him. He had grown dependant on her and her belief in him. She was the sole person that gave him confidence and love, when he needed it the most. She had been the one that stumbled into his life of chaos and somehow managed to make things alright.

The thought of not having her much longer brought a tight knot to his throat, and he bent his head down to kiss her again, not wanting that moment to end. His arms grasped her waist tighter, and somehow Peter just knew she belonged there, and she belonged in his arms, she belonged to him.

As the song ended too soon, the class president walked onto a platform to announce the selected prom king and queen. None of it really concerned Peter though, he didn't want to take his eyes off a Claire for a second. He wanted to savor every last moment he had with her, he didn't want any interruptions. Yet as he heard his name being called, Claire pushed him forward to the stage, and he felt himself being crowned and loosing Claire in the crowed of screaming teenagers.

Simone was crowned next to him, and they announced that the prom king and queen must share a dance, but Peter did not want to share any of his night with any girl, it was only Claire. When he finally spotted her again, he jumped off the stage and raced to her, because he prom queen was her, and the dance belonged to them and no one else.

_The Next Morning_

Peter opened his eyes to verify that what he felt was true, Claire had left him. They had ended the night by going to a room with in the hotel, and he'd finally lost his virginity to her. The night had gone amazing to say the least, and it convinced him that the only girl that he'd ever want was Claire.

On the coffee night stand lay a letter addressed to him, and he opened it with much regret knowing it was her goodbye.

_Peter,_

_When you read this I will be gone, but I'll go back to you. You won't see me for a long time, but don't worry, you'll find me when you least expect it. All I can say is that I love you so much, and when we meet don't forget about it. There are going to be complications, but you have to know that it's destiny and as wrong as it may be we can't help it. _

_You're a good person Peter, you have to believe that in order to meet me again. You're the most selfless empathetic person I have ever met, and you care about people. You're meant to be someone special, no matter what your parents think. I can't tell you much because you won't let me tell you anything to do with your future because it might alter the future. Just know that I am out there, and I'm waiting for you. _

_You can't tell me about our past, until the day we buy my own prom dress. We can't deviate from the way things have gone. You told me once that you felt helpless at times and thought you'd never meet me, but I promise you, that you will. At times you'll find other girls that will entertain you, and occupy my space until you meet me, and that's fine., but don't forget that when you meet me I'm the one. _

_when you find out who I am, you'll feel mad, but don't be. What we have is wonderful and although I wont say anything, I want to be with you. You're my hero Peter Petrelli and I love you, and I'm waiting for the day when you will say it back to me. _

_Love_

_Claire_

Peter had always hated how cryptic Claire was, but he understood that she couldn't tell him much. He promised himself that there would be no other girl while he waited for Claire, it was her , and her alone that he wanted, no one else. He would wait for Claire, even if it took years, and he promised not to love another woman the way he loved her, it was impossible.

_Present day_

Peter held Claire's hand as she walked out of the hotel room. It felt weird waiting for Claire, as she was deflowered by his seventeen year old self. Yet he knew the exact thing he had to do as soon as she exited the room.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her, but pulled away to smile at her, "I'm in love with you too Claire"

**_fin. _**


End file.
